U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,196 and 4,819,476, both off which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose a stamping and forming machine having two tooling modules, each of which has first and second ram assemblies which are reciprocable toward and away from each other along horizontal paths of reciprocation. Strip material is fed along a strip feed path which extends between the ram assemblies. The ram assemblies have tooling on their ends for performing stamping and forming operations on the strip. The ram assemblies are reciprocated by oscillating levers to which the are coupled. The levers, in turn, are coupled to a central power shaft by eccentric assemblies. One example of typical punch and die tooling for use in a stamping and forming machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,282, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The rams of this type of machine usually have a relatively short stroke, in the order of about 0.500 inch. Certain stamping and forming machine products require the use of deep draw dies which, in turn, require a ram stroke that is longer than that available. Since it is not practical to increase the ram stroke of this type of machine, in these situations, it is desirable to provide an articulated ram having the capability within the ram itself to increase the effective length of stroke of the tooling on the end of the ram while the actual length of the stroke at the driven end of the ram remains unchanged.